Jason Isringhausen tries to return from elbow surgery with Mets

Gene Boyars/The Star-LedgerPitcher Jason Isringhausen started his career with the Mets.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Sandwiched between Field 4 and Field 7, a small crowd Tuesday convened to watch the former future of the Mets franchise throw a bullpen session. Jason Isringhausen wore nondescript black shorts, a black mesh top and a black hat that read “Woodshed Farm.”

Out of the majors since 2009, Isringhausen called for a favor from an old friend, asking Mets assistant general manager J.P. Ricciardi for a tryout.

“I just came here to throw a little bit, asking for a chance,” Isringhausen said after about 25 pitches here at Digital Domain Park. “No expectations.”

Fifteen years ago, Isringhausen was one of the three prongs in Generation K, a group of Mets starting pitchers destined for greatness, expected to hang championship banners at Shea Stadium. The expectations never were met. But Isringhausen forged a successful career despite a bevy of injuries — the last being Tommy John surgery in 2009.

Now he was back here, happy for a final shot with the club which drafted him in the 44th round of the 1991 draft.

Last night, the Mets inked Isringhausen to a minor-league contract with an invitation to major-league camp.

“You have to put yourself in a position to get lucky,” Alderson said. “Who knows? Luck may have just walked in the door.”

For the Mets, the risk is low. With the departure of Pedro Feliciano and Hisanori Takahashi, the bullpen is unsettled.

“The opportunity, obviously, is appealing to a variety of different people,” Alderson said.

For Isringhausen, the risk was also low. He says he already has an invitation to join the minor-league camp of the Cincinnati Reds, with whom he attempted a comeback in the minors last season. But he wanted to increase his options. Through his agent, he called Ricciardi, whom he met in Oakland in 1999.

After the session, Isringhausen mentioned how much had changed. The landscape around Port St. Lucie was no longer barren. Few of the faces were familiar.

In the spring of 1996, Generation K reigned: The season before, Isringhausen won nine games with a 2.81 ERA, Bill Pulsipher pitched 126⅔ solid innings and Paul Wilson, the No. 1 pick in the 1994 draft, had 194 strikeouts in 186⅔ combined innings at Double A and Triple A.

The hype did not crush them. Their arms simply betrayed them. Pulsipher needed Tommy John surgery before the 1996 season. A torn labrum sidetracked Wilson for most of 1997 and 1998. Neither pitcher fully rebounded.

Isringhausen met a similar fate. In 1996, he tore his labrum. In 1997, he broke his wrist. The following year, he needed elbow surgery. The Mets dealt him to Oakland the following season.

Once there, Isringhausen reinvented himself as a closer. He was an All-Star selection in 2000, and after going to St. Louis, led the National League in saves in 2004 and made another All-Star team in 2005.

His body continued to break down: Hip injuries followed by elbow injuries followed by the Tommy John surgery in June 2009. With Cincinnati’s Triple-A affiliate last season, he carried a 9.53 ERA through 5⅔ unsuccessful innings.

Isringhausen tried out with the Reds again this winter. Then he got in touch with Ricciardi, looking for that last opportunity.

“It’s hard to pass it up,” Isringhausen said. “This is where it all started, full circle. We’ll see what happens.”